FORT WORTH, Texas ― Shane Proctor knew it was only a matter of time, and that time is now for the 28-year-old, nine-year professional bull rider to undergo shoulder surgery.

Dr. Tandy Freeman will perform the procedure next Tuesday in Dallas, and Proctor is not expected to return to competition until August. He’ll have a checkup the day before and hopes to be released on Wednesday and return home to Mooresville, N.C., on Thursday afternoon in the wake of a follow-up with Freeman.

It’s believed that his labrum tore away from the bone when he dislocated his left shoulder and, according to Proctor, Freeman will reattach the cartilage to the bone “and pull everything together and tighten everything back up.”

Proctor explained that he was told once the labrum is torn there is nothing to keep the shoulder from coming out of place.

“I went eight months needing surgery and qualified for two Finals,” said Proctor, who despite the injury qualified for last year’s World Finals in October and the National Finals Rodeo in December.

“It’s time. I feel like I was just trying to get by bulls instead of riding to win and you can’t do that competing at that level. No matter how hard you try, when your body gives out it’s hard to compete.”

Proctor injured the left shoulder of his free arm last April in the opening round of a Built Ford Tough Series event in Billings, Mont., when he hung up to Magnum's Motion.

Shane Proctor rides Flying V's Magnum's Motion for 81 during the first round of the Built Ford Tough Series event in Billings, Mont., last year. 

Proctor, who is originally from Grand Coulee, Wash., said that he took time off last fall – prior to the World Finals – after experiencing his shoulder sliding out of place six times in a two-week period.

He knew then he would need surgery sooner rather than later.

In addition to the Finals and the NFR, he was hoping to get by until March in order to compete in both the Iron Cowboy and THE AMERICAN at AT&T Stadium, formerly known as Cowboys Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.

He had automatically qualified for THE AMERICAN by virtue of his ninth-place finish in the 2013 world standings.

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However, he tweaked the shoulder in the opening round of the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden in New York this past weekend, and he said it progressively got sore throughout the three-day event at Madison Square Garden – an event he previously won to open the 2010 season.

Prior to Proctor’s decision, two-time World Champion Justin McBride and nine-time World Champion Ty Murray both noticed that Proctor seemed to be favoring his left shoulder more than usual.

Both agreed with his decision.

“He’s had it before and he can tell when something’s not right,” said Proctor, who read Murray’s autobiography “King of the Cowboys” on Tuesday evening.

Murray, who with the help of co-author Steve Eubanks, chronicled his injury, the subsequent surgery and recovery, along with his rehab and training in the book.

Proctor has spoken with several riders who have had the same procedure, including Markus Mariluch.

It’s a fairly common procedure.

As it stands, Proctor will reach the sixth-month mark in mid-July, at which point he would hope to be released. He’ll then work to get himself in riding shape, which is different from the training he plans to continue throughout the process, in preparation for the second half of the BFTS.

He admitted that by missing a key six-month period – the longest he’s ever been out of competition – he’ll have a difficult time qualifying for either Finals, but he plans to focus on making a late-season run at the PBR finale.

“I should be back for Thackerville, (Okla.), and I’ll have two or three weeks before then to get on some bulls,” said Proctor, who was among the first in a growing trend among bull riders to train year-round like other professional athletes.

Being in peak physical condition ought to help make it easier for Proctor to return on time, provided Freeman doesn’t find any additional damage.

“I’m just going to have to listen to the doctor,” Proctor said, “and if he says I’m not ready to come back then I won’t be ready and I’ll take his advice. I’m going to do whatever it takes to ride for as long as I can, so if it takes sitting out a couple extra months or the rest of this year to be fully capable of competing at 100 percent next year then I’ll do what it takes.”

Follow Keith Ryan Cartwright on Twitter @PBR_KRC.